Is There a Good Reference on Omega 3/Omega 6 Fats?


(Central Florida Bob ) #1

I suppose that says it all. I’d like a good reference on the oils along the lines of which to eat and which to avoid. Is there a really good reference out there?

In the last several months, my wife and I have stepped up our “control the omega-6” game and started making our own mayonnaise and salad dressings. We’ve used avocado oil and both Extra Virgin and light olive oils. Most of what we have to work with is light olive oil.

It’s gotten me puzzling over this topic. I know we’re supposed to increase omega-3 oils, which is difficult, but it seems everyone says to drop the soybean oil, corn oil, canola and other vegetable oils that are in all the processed foods.


(Todd Allen) #2

The suggestion to drop refined seed oils is only partly due to poor ratios of omega 3 to omega 6. Soybean oil has more omega 3 then most recommended oils. But the extraction process for seed oils is harsher involving solvents such as hexane and/or high temperatures. This tends to leave them stripped of their natural anti-oxidants such as vitamin E as well as other beneficial compounds.

For omega 3 I eat sardines, herring and other fish low on the food chain coming from places hopefully low in heavy metals and other contaminants.


#3

I like this https://www.puritan.com/food-supplements-004/organic-flaxseed-oil-006420


(Central Florida Bob ) #4

First off, everything I know says the sardines are a good idea. I think wild game is supposed to have better omega-3 profiles than commercially farmed meats, too. It may be where the grass fed beef idea came from.

It’s my understanding that it’s more than the processing with the oils. Soybean oil is said to cause thyroid damage, probably more damage in some susceptible people than everyone. I recall reading that from Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon 20 years ago. Dr. Mercola and many others say the same thing. Since my wife takes thyroid hormones (Synthroid), it’s another reason to avoid it.

I don’t recall the arguments against canola and the rest. It’s one reason I’m looking.


#5

Depending on how deep into the weeds you want to get on the subject, I really like the new book that recently came out: The Ketogenic Bible by Jacob Wilson & Ryan Lowery. It has some very good info on types of fat, and good sources of the healthy kind.

One flag I’d raise: fairly recent research pointed out that a huge chunk of the cheap olive oils are counterfeit, even ones from Italy. It’s highly profitable to substitute cheap, nasty seed oils and charge a premium olive oil price! So be very careful to check out the source of olive oil you buy.

As far as why to stay away from the seed oils, my understanding is because they are so easily oxidised and rancid. And in that state are damaging to the body.


#6

Is this a typo? You mean 6, not 3, right?


(Central Florida Bob ) #7

“Deep into the weeds” is why I’m here! This is the “Show Me The Science” page, after all, and I figured it would the best place to get all the details or find a way into the weeds.

Did you ever hear the talk where Steve Phinney said he had heard that and took some Costco olive oil down to a friend in the chemistry department to run a spectrum on it? This was cheap olive oil sold by the gallon, and the spectrum showed it to be pure olive oil. Not to say all cheap olive oil will be, but that maybe “know your source”?


(KCKO, KCFO) #8

I find this helpful when deciding on what oil to use. She has written a lot about the bad fats and has stopped her private practice to do pure research on this.


#9

If only we all had a friendly face in the chemistry dept to check our olive oil!! :sunglasses:

I tend to stick with avocado oil mostly now. And get the expensive California Olive Ranch stuff for the dishes that absolutely have to have olive oil, or maybe to make a batch of vinaigrette.

With something like the gallon of Costco brand, I’d be concerned that somewhere down the line they’d change suppliers or a new manager at the plant would make an executive decision to bump up the profits. Call me cynical if you want, but…


(Central Florida Bob ) #10

Thanks collaroygal!

I know Dr Cate - I’ve heard her talk on Jimmy Moore’s podcasts several times. She’s definitely got the credibility with me.


(Central Florida Bob ) #11

No, I think you’re right. That’s exactly how these things work. I don’t know of any way to be 100% sure, other than buying olives and pressing them yourself. If you’re living next door to the olive press and can go watch them, or get to know them and know you can trust them, that’s about it.


(Todd Allen) #12

Avocado oil has an omega 6/omega 3 ratio of 13:1, olive oil is 11:1 while soy is 7.8:1 and canola (also considered an unhealthy oil by most keto folks) has a great ratio of 2.2:1. Coconut oil typically is listed as having no omega 3. The omega6/omega 3 ratio is not a factor in why pressed fruit oils are recommended over the refined seed oils. Also, the omega 3 found in plant oils is mostly alpha-linolenic acid and is less useful than the EPA and DHA found in fish.

Look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratio_of_fatty_acids_in_different_foods


#13

Ah, thanks @brownfat. That context/explanation helps clarify it in my mind now. The word “recommended” led me astray in my understanding of your point. Got it now. You wrote it correctly, but I looked at it wrong.

True, but just to clarify for others reading this, most of avocado oil is omega 9 and only a small portion (under 20%?) of the oil is PUFA with the 13:1 ratio. Whereas soybean oil is well over half PUFA so that wonks up the comparisons a bit. I wanted to add that color and context so that others don’t think that soybean oil is “almost twice” as good from a 6:3 perspective than avocado oil.

But, your larger point hits the mark entirely: just looking at 6:3 ratios isn’t the real analysis as to why avocado/coconut oils etc. are preferred over the industrial seed oils. Anything involving hexane or 500 degree processing temps cannot be good! :weary:


(Sjur Gjøstein Karevoll) #14

Yes, the ratios are only half the information. The other half is how much PUFA is in the food in question. Beef is another good example, since while grass fed beef has a much better 6:3 ratio, the total amount of PUFA in beef fat is really low anyway so there’s not much of a difference either way. Where the ratio does matter is in fish because fatty fish does have a lot of PUFAs.

If you eat fatty fish for the omega 3s, a good idea considering the dearth of good land-based omega 3 sources, you would do well to avoid farmed fish like salmon and trout. Wild salmon and trout are fine, but farmed are fed grains. The fish doesn’t make the omega 3 fat itself, it gets it from its food, so when it’s fed grain it gets a much worse 6:3 ratio. Alternatives to salmon and trout are sardines, mackerel and herring, which are all fatty fish which are fished from the ocean, not farmed. The downside to eating a lot of wild seafood is of course that it contains a higher amount of heavy metals than land-based food (or farmed fish), but if life was easy it wouldn’t be interesting.


#15

I think the ratios are interesting BUT ONLY after looking at the absolute amounts. Look closer at that Wikipedia page and click the sort icon at the top of the Omega-6 column to bring the highest amounts to the top. Walnut oil has a ratio of 5.1 but it’s almost 1/2 Omega 6 (7.2g per 15 g). Soybean oil is a close second (7g per 15 g). Yup, avocado oil has a high ratio but look at the amounts: 1.82g per 15g. That’s a HUGE difference compared to soybean oil. My main concern is that it’s easy to a lot of soybean oil (mayo, salad dressing, fried foods). So I start with limiting the absolute amounts by eliminating as much soy oil as possible. I make my own dressings, don’t each much fried foods… Then when I eat sardines, salmon or add some flaxseed meal, it’s much easier to push “my” ratio into the good zone.